Likewise, I would never be so rude as to not interrupt a friend. How else would she know I was listening?

But the fact is, I'm not work-identified. I'm not a lawyer or a writer. I'm a mom, and I'm a woman, and that's the kind of people I want to see in books in the starring role.

I love everything about Philadelphia, and its food is like the city itself: real-deal, hearty, and without pretension. We've always had an underdog vibe as a city, but that just makes us try harder, and I love our scrappiness and scruffiness.

Even people who counted their blessings never counted them in the morning. For one thing, there wasn't time.

You can really help support a character if you understand the setting. So for that reason I generally write about Philadelphia.

Do you know what they call people who hoard books? Smart.

I am really, I think, truly an easygoing, positive, fun person.